Windows Vista RTM, XP SP2, 2000 support will end soon

If you’re still using Windows 2000, Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or the original release of Windows Vista – first of all, why? But second of all, Microsoft will stop supporting your operating system in the next few months.

The Windows Vista RTM – the original version Microsoft released to manufacturers in 2006 – will no longer be supported after April 13, 2010. And, by the way, if you’re still using it with Service Pack 1 (the latest is Service Pack 2), your support will end on July 12, 2011.

Microsoft also will stop supporting Windows XP SP2 on July 13, 2010.

“Many customers are still on this version, so we encourage upgrading to Service Pack 3 or to Windows 7 as soon as possible,” Jerry Bryant, a senior security communications manager, wrote on the Microsoft Security Response Center blog.

And if you’re for some reason still running Windows 2000 on your dinosaur of a machine, it’s time – it’s really time – to upgrade. Extended support for Win2000 will end on July 13, 2010. That means no more updates and no more security, Bryant wrote.

Ah, product life cycles.

Meanwhile, Microsoft also announced a slew of security updates for 26 vulnerabilities in Windows and Office. More info is in the same blog post.